Legislation prompted by huge SF General bills passes...

1of2Zander Brandt shows a part of the hospital bill of the $97,000 he owes on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, in San Francisco, Calif. Last November, Brandt went to S.F. General hospital with major pain on the side of his stomach. He needed an appendectomy, but minutes before surgery hospital staff told him they were "out-of-network" for his surgery and he'd wind up with a big bill if he went through with it. All other ERs in the city were full so he got the surgery there and now owes $97,000.Photo: Santiago Mejia, The Chronicle

San Francisco General had billed patients for the difference between the cost of their treatment and what their insurance companies were willing to pay. The hospital announced in April that it would end the practice, meaning patients won’t be billed beyond what their insurance requires.

AB1611 would prohibit hospitals from billing patients for any cost beyond their insurance deductible and co-payment. It also spells out rules for how hospitals and insurers resolve cost disputes.

Dustin Gardiner is a state Capitol reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He joined The Chronicle in 2019, after nearly a decade with The Arizona Republic, where he covered state and city politics. Dustin won several awards for his reporting in Arizona, including the 2019 John Kolbe Politics Reporting award, and the 2017 Story of the Year award from the Arizona Newspapers Association. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, camping, reading fiction and playing Settlers of Catan. He's a member of NLGJA, the association of LGBTQ journalists.